


When We're Old

by say_lene



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-13 23:12:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10523916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/say_lene/pseuds/say_lene
Summary: I felt a little ripped off by the lack of Liam romance scenes. So here's my headcanon romance scene - set after the jump jet on Eos.---"I *am* right there with you. Always will be."





	

She took him by surprise.

Liam was a man of highs and lows; of bursts of loud and gleeful affection followed by stretches of immovable calm. His day-to-day was off the cuff, but every move he made on Sara was meticulously planned out. He wanted it perfect, that much was clear. He wanted a romance like the ones in the vids.

Sara wanted that, too - mostly because he did. But not _just_ that. She wanted more.

So she took him by surprise. She hung around in the galley for all of the afternoon shift, waiting for Liam to wander through in search of snacks. Maybe she was guilty of the exact same _planning_ that Liam was, but she could forgive herself for that. She sat cross-legged on the table for hours, turning the cookie jar over in her hands. She considered pocketing some for later - but knowing Liam's feelings about Lexi's new health regime, he'd probably counted them.

She did leg stretches on the back of the chairs. She flicked through mission reports on her omni-tool. She started to sing some nameless melody before remembering that she didn't want Liam to hear her.

She hadn't expected it to take this long.

But then she finally heard him. He had one of those gaits that was clear to the ear; not as heavy or lumbering as Drack's, nor as careful as Jaal's or Vetra's. It couldn't be Gil, because he'd stayed up far too late rushing through an upgrade to the Nomad.

So Sara scurried over to the door and took Liam by surprise. The galley doors whooshed open, and she leapt into his arms.

"Whoa!"

He dropped her, of course - but he tried to catch her halfway down, and together they tumbled to the floor. Liam groaned. Sara had to fight down laughter.

"You okay, Kosta?"

"I think so." He was flat on his back, with Sara sprawled across his thighs. "Did that really happen?"

"Yup." Sara clambered up onto her knees and leaned down to press her forehead to his. Liam's breath caught, just like it always did when she got this close. She planted a hand on his shoulder to toy with the collar of his shirt. "You busy?"

"Never too busy for this." His hands came up to rest on her ass, so Sara gave it a wriggle while he grinned at her. "Our little hiking trip was a pretty good time, huh?"

Sara laughed. All he had to do to get her hot and bothered was smile that smile of his. "Mmhmm." She kissed him, wrinkling her nose when his stubble scraped her chin. "I was thinking you might be up for another good time."

Liam's eyelids lowered slightly. His smile turned anticipating. "You asking what I think you're asking, Sara?"

"Damn right I am." She lowered herself down so she was sitting on his hips, then lay her body flat against him - and she didn't miss his quiet gasp. She planted a kiss at the corner of his mouth. "So, what do you say?"

"Mmm." He turned his head to catch her kiss. "I say that sounds _really_ nice."

"Good!"

Sara scrambled off him and leapt to her feet, dragging Liam up behind her. She pulled him along by her grip on his hand until the doors to her quarters slid shut behind them - then spun around to fold her arms around his neck.

"SAM, lock the door, please."

Liam chuckled as Sara pushed him up against the door, smiling into her lips when she caught him in an open-mouthed kiss. His hands were under her shirt already, thumbs stroking her ribs like he was coaxing her to lift-off. Sara didn't need any coaxing. All she needed was him.

"SAM," she managed to groan between kisses.

"Yes, Pathfinder?"

"No offense, but…could you go away for a while?"

"Certainly, Sara."

Liam hummed quietly. "I didn't think of that. Would've been weird, huh? Is it? Weird, I mean. Having him in your head _all_ the time."

Sara laughed - a little breathlessly. She wriggled free of his embrace, treading slowly backwards towards the bed. It was a long moment before Liam let his hands fall, fingers kneading empty air like he could still feel her there.

"Let's not talk about SAM." She paused when the back of her knees met the mattress.

"What do you want to talk about, Sara?" He paced towards her, arms hanging by his sides.

God, she loved it when he said her name like that. "We don't have to talk at all."

When Liam finally reached her, his hands went to her hips. She leaned into him like a willow into a breeze, wanting nothing more than to melt right into him - or _collide_ with him, like clashing comets or a falling satellite; like Andromeda itself finally meeting their distant home.

She didn't resist when he gently pushed her backwards. She fell onto her back, bouncing gently, while Liam's weight dented the mattress beside her. He was everywhere; both over and around her, his hand sliding up over her ribs to palm one of her breasts. His stubble tickled her chin as he kissed her. He smelled like cheap deodorant, but Sara didn't mind. She loved it. She loved _him_.

His hand drifted back down to rest on her stomach.  "There's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?" The ceiling lights made him a beautiful silhouette. He could have told her the world was ending, and she still would have praised him.

"We're good together, right? In the field, yeah, but as a couple as well. We're both serious. We both want this."

"Yeah." She reached out to touch his cheek. "We do."

"And I feel like we're both on the same page. But my brain takes these huge leaps forward, sometimes, and I feel like you get it - like you're right there with me, no matter how far ahead of myself I get."

"Like 'when we're old'"? Sara's lungs felt like glass, just like they had when he'd held her close atop that rocky arch above Prodromos; when he'd made the grand gesture, but forgotten those essential words.

_When we're old, and people ask us how we got together, I want you to smile._

"Well, yeah." He was watching her intently, like somehow - _somehow_ \- he was still afraid of letting her down. "When we're old. Big leap, there. Didn't mean to let that one slip so early, but my mouth is stupid sometimes."

Sara stroked his cheek gently. "I _am_ right there with you. Always will be."

Liam took a deep breath. He was clearly steeling himself for something. "But I still have to tell you, because you don't leave something like this to chance. Not something this important."

Sara's heart was in her throat. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"Truth is, Sara Ryder, I think I've loved you since the day I met you. That's why I do it - all the planning, I mean. It's gotta be perfect, because -"

It felt like she could barely speak. "Don't you dare say I'm perfect."

He grinned, then, like sudden sunlight through scattered clouds. "No way. You're messed up. I think maybe we both are, underneath everything else we've got going on. But we've got each other.

"I love you, Sara Ryder. Always have."

Sara pulled his face to hers. She closed her eyes and just _breathed_ ; breathed him in - breathed _it_ in. "I love you too, Liam. Always will."

He kissed her again, like colliding galaxies and collapsing stars. "Then I'm a happy man."

And that was all the talking they did that night.


End file.
